Valparaiso (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Horizon)
Crusaders open 2016 slate with pair of road tests
Friday, Aug. 19 - 6:30 p.m. CT – Indianapolis, Ind. - at IUPUI (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Summit)
Sunday, Aug. 21 - noon CT – Bowling Green, Ohio – at Bowling Green (0-0-0, 0-0-0 MAC)
This Week in Crusader Soccer: The Valparaiso University women's soccer team kicks off the 2016 season this weekend, going on the road for a pair of contests at IUPUI and Bowling Green. The Crusaders return 18 letterwinners in 2016, including five of their top seven scorers from last year's team.
Previously: Valpo found the back of the net six times over two exhibition matches, winning at Western Illinois 4-2 before drawing at home versus Ohio 2-2. Freshman Tahelah Noel scored in both contests as five Crusaders combined for the six goals and eight different players picked up points. Plenty of player saw action during the preseason, as 24 players took the field at WIU and 22 against Ohio.
Looking Ahead: The second weekend of play sees Valpo come home to Brown Field for the first time in the regular season, hosting New Mexico State on Friday, Aug. 26, before journeying to Chicago for a matchup against Loyola two days later.
Following the Crusaders: Both matches this weekend will have live stats available through ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach John Marovich: The 2014 Horizon League Coach of the Year, John Marovich holds a 73-52-27 record both overall and with Valpo entering his ninth season at the helm of the Brown and Gold. Just the third head coach in program history, Marovich is just five wins shy of moving into a tie as the program's all-time winningest coach.
Series Notes: IUPUI – The Crusaders hold a 10-3-4 advantage in the all-time series versus the Jaguars. A series dating back to the Mid-Con days, last season was the first year since 1997 that the two sides did not meet on the pitch. The last meeting came on Aug. 24, 2014, a scoreless draw on Brown Field.
Bowling Green – The Falcons hold a slight 3-2-1 edge in the all-time series over Valpo, but the Crusaders have earned results in each of the last three meetings. Last season saw the two squads battle to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 13 in Valparaiso, with April Cronin netting the Crusaders' lone goal.
Crusaders Picked Fourth in Preseason Poll: Valpo has been chosen to finish in a tie for fourth place in the Horizon League preseason poll, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The Crusaders totaled 57 points in the preseason polling, in which coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team, to tie Wright State for fourth place. Oakland edged out Milwaukee by one point to top the preseason poll.
Looking Back at 2015: Last year's Crusader squad posted a 7-8-3 record, including a 4-4-1 mark in Horizon League play. April Cronin and graduated senior Rita Craven both repeated as First Team All-League honorees and were NSCAA Third Team All-Region choices, while Kelsey Jahn represented the Crusaders on the league's All-Freshman Team.
Hit the Road Jack: The 2016 Valpo side will compile plenty of travel time in the early portion of the 2016 season. Of the Crusaders' first nine regular season matches, only two will be at Brown Field, as Valpo will play five road contests and a pair of neutral-site matches at Nebraska's Cornhusker Classic. In the second half of the season, the Crusaders will play five of their final nine matches at home.
Experience Returning: Among the 18 letterwinners returning for the Crusaders in 2016 are seven of last season's 11 most regular starters. The team features plenty of new blood as well, however, as nine freshmen are in their first year at Valparaiso.
Cronin Looks to Lead the Way: Senior forward April Cronin seems primed for a stellar final year with the Crusaders after spending this past summer as a starter with the Chicago Red Star Reserves, helping the squad to a final-four finish in the WPSL. Cronin led Valpo as a junior with seven goals and three assists, and enters her senior year just four goals and 12 points shy of second place in program history in the respective categories.
